How Self Hypnosis Is Done

byJohn ClarkonAugust 1, 2006

Hypnosis may still seem like a mysterious form of mind control to many people; however it can be done, by you, to yourself. There are many books and websites available that will describe how to self hypnotize. It can seem difficult to do, but it is most important to remain relaxed and willing to be hypnotized.

You first need to induce a hypnotic state, which can be fairly easy. This is called the induction. It can be as formal or as informal as you like. You will usually need a comfortable and quiet place, remembering that during hypnosis, you will be able to hear and see everything that is going on, so in front of the TV which your family is watching may not be the most conducive place, and then to start with a change in posture, which will act as a physical cue to your body that you are ready to do this. You will need to breathe calmly and slowly, and focusing on your breathing and on something onside your body – a sound or a visual cue.

You need to “shut off” your thoughts. Soothing background music, or an induction tape that tells you what to do as you are going through the steps to self hypnotize can help. You can make your own induction tape or purchase one from a professional hypnotist.

Once you have relaxed into a hypnotic state, you can make suggestions which will allow you to plant ideas directly into your subconscious mind. This is called a prescription, or a script. This tells your subconscious mind exactly what you want it to think, using the power of positive thinking in order to help you achieve your goals. At the end of your hypnotic session, you will wake yourself up, which is easily done just by telling yourself to wake up, or by having your tape include the instruction to wake up. If you are hypnotizing yourself to help you fall asleep, obviously you will not want to wake up but rather drift into the sleep state from the hypnotic state.

You may not be able to hypnotize yourself very well the first time you try. Some people take longer than others to be able to self hypnotize, but most can hypnotize themselves fairly well within 3 weeks. Daily practice is important, both to develop the ability to hypnotize yourself, and to keep working towards your goal or objective – the reason why you are hypnotizing yourself. Each daily session will take up to half an hour, although with practice, sessions can become shorter.